


Unfamiliar Ceilings

by kyozakis



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Adoptive family, Coffee Dad Sojiro, Gen, akira just gets :( sometimes, post interrogation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-18
Updated: 2020-08-18
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:13:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,693
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25970410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kyozakis/pseuds/kyozakis
Summary: Sojiro sighed in annoyance while the TV buzzed. He couldn't understand what it was saying, but he didn't really care either. Just drama about the Phantom Thieves. He can't help but laugh, since the supposed dead leader is sleeping on the couch right next to him like a baby.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 118





	Unfamiliar Ceilings

**Author's Note:**

> hihi!! been a while, hasn’t it?  
> apologies on my behalf. posting fics..... is actually very scary to me  
> anyWAYYSSS  
> i would just like to say!! this basically follows the same events as the game on 11/20, but in this, Sae brings Akira to Sojiro and crashes on the couch for the night.
> 
> the way they handle Akiras police brutality situation bothers me a lot, so i like to think Sojiro helped him out of a little sad slump after the interrogation ( my issue with Akiras personal problems is another issue for another day, so ii hope u like dis :) )

Sojiro sighed in annoyance while the TV buzzed. He couldn't understand what it was saying, but he didn't really care either. Just drama about the Phantom Thieves. He can't help but laugh, since the supposed dead leader is sleeping on the couch right next to him like a baby. 

Although Akira had been living with him in the cafe for some time, but he'd never really seen too many sides of him. He felt a little bad for that, now that he's 'dead'. He doesn't know what they did to him. He wouldn't dare to ask. He just knows they did something bad. Hell, he barely even knows who they are. 

There's a chance Akira won't ever be the same person after this. He wouldn't doubt the possibility of him losing a part of himself, like Futaba did after Wakabas death. He could barely even hold himself up when Niijima-san brought him here. He wouldn't be surprised if he closed a part himself off, at least in public. He dreaded getting thrown back to square one with the boy. 

The cat that perched over him had left however long ago to Futabas room, so Sojiro opted to replace the watching eyes the cat had. He would stare mindlessly into the TV, then back to Akira. Sometimes Akira would shift, or groan in an uncomfortable way. His brows would furrow, or swat some imaginary hand away from his face. 

This continued throughout the night, until Akira just woke up. 

He heard his breathing pick up. It was too fast to be normal. Sojiro started to get up when Akira began to cough. He walked over the the couch and squat down next to it, helping Akira sit up as he brought a shaky elbow to his mouth. 

After a minute or so, he regained his composure, taking in big inhales as he slowly came down from his mental high. A soft and raspy "thank you" escaped his mouth. It made Sojiro want to cry.   
"You're welcome, kid." Was all he said back when he got up. 

He sat back down on his chair, and watched Akira turn in his direction in his side view. Neither said anything. 

"What're you watching?" Akira whispered. He didn't even seem like he was doing it on purpose— like he couldn't talk loud even if wanted to.   
"I don't know." Sojiro laughed as he spoke, but the laugh was empty and tired. Akira made a hum of acknowledgement.   
"You didn't have to stay up for me, Sojiro."  
"Yes I did. Anything could've happened to you— if I weren't here then you could've choked on your own air."

Akira closed his eyes as they grew heavy again. "That's true." 

They went back to silence for another minute.

"You wanna know something— actually it's kind of sad but still." Akira spoke  
"Sure, why not."  
"Today's my birthday."

Sojiro paused. "Really?" Akira nodded. He moved his hands to show above the blanket by his face, and gave a little jazz-hands presentation. "I'm seventeen now."

Sojiro exhaled sadly. "Escaping from the police on your birthday. Very stylish, Akira." He smiled. Akira hid his hands again and smiled back— a weak and bloody smile, but still a smile. "I have my ways." 

He yawned as tears began to prick his eyes. He wiped them away with the blanket. 

"You tired?" Sojiro hummed  
"Ehh. I've been tired for a while. Sleep isn't helping."  
"What? You sleep in the interrogation room?" Sojiro scoffed.   
"Of course not." Akira giggled. "I slept on the way here. I barely heard what Niijima-san told me."

Akira focused into the TV as it spat nonsense out.   
"And now, for the 4 o'clock news. As some of you heard, the teenager leader of the criminal group, 'The Phantom Thieves of Heart', has committed suicide. It's come as a shock to a—"

His eyes went dull. Almost sad. "I'm really dead."   
"I guess you are."   
Akira didn't say anything back. He looked like he wanted to cry. He spoke up and changed the subject. "Please don't tell the others about my birthday."  
"You ever gonna' tell 'em?" Sojiro asked "Did you even plan on telling me?"  
"No." He confirmed "I'd rather it be a secret."   
"How would they know how old you are?"   
"If they call me the wrong age then I'll correct them. Simple as that."

Sojiro hummed. He let the idea of Akiras eventual adulthood gnaw away at his head. He's gotta go home one day, duh. But will he ever come back? When everything's said and done— The Phantom Theives, his probation— will he just go home like nothing ever happened? Sojiro didn't want to admit it, but it scared him. It scared him bad. 

"Akira."   
Ge groaned. "This is the last conversation, then I'm going back to sleep."  
"Alright." Sojiro agreed. "When you leave Tokyo— I mean, when you go home, you'll come visit right? You know you're always welcome back in the attic whenever you need. Hell, I'd even clean up the guest room for you here if Futaba takes the attic over when you're gone."  
Akira shifts, "If my parents let me, I will."  
"If they don't?"  
"I still will. They're strict yeah, but they've been my parents for years. I know how to sneak around under their noses. I promise I'll come visit."

"I'm going to sleep now." Akira grunted as he turned away from Sojiro.   
"Alright, sleep well."   
"Thanks." He mumbled. 

Sojiro bit his gums as a pang of sadness went through his bones. He had the urge to say 'I love you'. He felt bad that he couldn't— he knew he couldn't. That's just weird. He's not Akiras dad, he knows he'll never be. He hopes that he's something close to that deep down in his heart. 

He turned off the TV, partially of the fact that he wanted to get some sleep, and he was sick of hearing all the slandering on the Phantom Thieves.

They don't know Akira. They don't know any of them. Not the way Sojiro knows them. They aren't killers, they're kids. Kids doing what they think is right. Kids doing what is right. Doing the things that his generation could never do— hell, they never even thought of starting a literal government uprising. 

He didn't register his feelings until the morning, when Futaba and Akira sat at the kitchen table with the cat, and the smell of coffee in the air as they offered him a cup, but he has an unbelievable amount of respect for these kids. 

They all lost something important to them— a parent, their freedom, a place to really belong. They're all broken, and shattered, and lost. But they all found home within each other. That's something he could never do. He's still broken because of Wakaba. He doesn't think there's going to be anything to fill the Wakaba shaped hole in his old, fragile heart. 

Maybe he can't have Wakaba. Maybe he can't have the life he wanted. But maybe this was the life he needed. Akira did things Sojiro could never do. Stand up for others, for one. 

Sojiros rule of thumb is to never stick your nose where it doesn't belong, and he painfully remembers telling Akira that when he first came to Tokyo. He treated him like a criminal. A criminal that he wasn't. He never even apologized for that. He reminds himself to do it sometime before Akira goes home. 

Despite all the times Sojiro told him to 'stay out of adult business' Akira just wouldn't listen. A fatal flaw in the boy with many faces. Time and time again, he helped others when they needed it, even when he knew he'd be the one to hey in trouble for it. He was like a superhuman, honestly. 

He ran over these thoughts as he sipped his coffee at the table. He watched as Futaba showed off all their family pictures stung up on the fridge. Futaba was laughing at an old picture of Wakaba and Sojiro, pointing out his messy baby-beard. Akira smiled weakly. It looked no different from the one he showed the night before, but this smiled reached his eyes and made him squint. 

Sojiro thought it was funny how they almost looked like brother and sister. Maybe that's what they are to each other. 

Akira was the push Futaba needed. The push that Sojiro could never give because he was too afraid. He was too afraid of what Wakaba might think of him— where ever she was. Once Futabas heart changed, she insisted of putting all the pictures of Wakaba back up. The family pictures, the work pictures— all of it. 

He was pulled out of his mind when Futaba tapped his shoulder.   
"We're going to go to LeBlanc to meet up with Makotos sister and the others. Are you coming?"   
Sojiro nodded, "Yeah, just give me a minute."  
"Okaaay~ Come on, Akira!" She said, skipping down the hall. 

Before Akira could respond, Sojiro stood up, meeting him at eye level. "Are you sure you'll be ok?"   
Akira nodded, "I will. We're going to explain everything."

Sojiro sighed. It was a mix of worry and relief. That was a poker face a 17-year-old has no to have. 

***

The info dump at the cafe was— a lot, hands down. First Akechi, then Shido— Sojiro just about had enough of it. By the time everything was said and done, they all sat in the cafe and talked, Niijima-San included. 

"Hey, Niijima." Sojiro tapped the woman on the shoulder.   
"Yes, Sakura-san? What is it?"   
"I need to run by the store to pick some things up for dinner, so when do you plan on leaving? I'm just checking incase Akira needs to be in charge of the store."  
"Are you sure it would be safe for him to work like this?" She asked.   
"Not exactly. Do you think he should keep open?"  
"No." She said firmly, "if someone undercover came in here, he might get busted. Especially since he was forced to sign his name under ghe confession, so they know who he is."  
"Alright, thanks for the info." He nodded solemnly 

"Hey, I need to head to the store, so I'm gonna flip the sign to closed so nothing bad happens— no guarantee of course, so just stay safe. All of you feel free to leave whenever."  
All the teens nodded and waved goodbye as he let. 

Now, the real journey began.

Sojiro walked from store to store, in and out. Video game stores and manga shops, but nothing really screamed 'Akira' to him. It was more Ryuji— definitely Futaba. He laughed at how well he got to knew the kids. They all felt like his own, even the ones who had other family members to go home to. 

The walking continued. He really wished he asked what Akira likes before doing this, but that would spoil the whole shabang. Everything started to bleed together. When did he come into this store and leave the other one? When did he stop in front of this stack of doo-hickeys? 

He assumed he was on the brink of insanity, but that's when he saw it. It was simple, but he was getting desperate at this point— he hoped it didn't seem tok half-assed. 

It was a red, black and gold fountain pen. It had little flowers on the case. He didn't know if Akira would really like it, but it was better than nothing. He snatched it and payed, looking over it as he walked back to the cafe. 

Said cafe was dark. From the outside, you could see the light still on in the attic. He hoped he wasn't disturbing Akira, or maybe he just fell asleep with the light on. He check the time, 11:32. It's still his birthday. It still counts. 

He sighed heavily, tempted to smoke for a second before he went in. He trashed the idea, if Futaba was— which she probably was— then she'd smell the smoke on him right when he walked down the hall to his room and hound on him. 

He opened the door with his key ( thank god akira locked it ) and turned the light on. He heard the floor boards creak as Akira walked to the stairs.   
"Who's there?" He asked, "This can be charged as breaking and entering—" He cut himself off as he saw Sojiro standing in the door way.   
"Oh, it's just you." He sighed   
"Come on, birthday boy. Don't sound so bummed out." Sojiro laughed as he walked over to Akira. 

He held the bag out to Akira, "Happy birthday, Akira."

He was quiet for a minute, a little resistant to take the bag, but eventually gave in. He stayed quiet as he peaked in the bag. A warm smile spread across his face. "Sojiro, you really didn't have to..." He cooed.   
"Of course I did," The man countered, "What kind of guardian would I be if I gave you nothing." He laughed, scratching the back of his neck. 

"I hope it's enough." He sighed   
"It's more than enough. I wasn't even expecting anything." Akira took out the pen out of the box slowly. He ran his fingers over it in awe. 

"Didn't know you like pens so much." Sojiro teased.   
"It's not that." The boy shook his head, letting his hands and head fall a bit lower. "I'm not really close to my parents. They're always busy with work. I barely got to say goodbye before I came here—"

Sojiros heart clenched. He's not going to say something that cheesy is he?

"So, I guess this just kind of makes me happy—"

Come on, Akira. Don't make him all giddy over a silly little sentence. 

"You kind of feel like a dad to me, Sojiro."

Oooh, there it is. 

"Took you a while to say so." Sojiro took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. He's not going to tear up over something so simple.   
"It's a little weird to say, but I'm sure I could get used to it." Akira said, putting the pen back into the box neatly.   
Sojiro paused, "get used to what, the pen?"  
Akira smiled, "Calling you 'dad'. I could get used to it."

Sojiro let out a heavy sigh, "you really know how to pull these old heart strings of mine, don't you?"  
"I guess so." Akiras smile grew even wider. "Thank you, again." He said   
"Of course."

Sojiro stretches his arms out. "I should really be headed home now. Futabas probably worried."  
Akira nodded, "You we're out for a while."  
Sojiro walked to the door. Before he could open the door, Akira spoke up again. 

"Uh— Sojiro?" He said  
"Yeah? Is something wrong?"   
"N-No... can I uh..." Akira rubbed his hands together and tapped his toe on the tile. "Can I give you a hug?" 

Sojiro nodded, "of course." 

They met in the middle of the room, and embraced each other. Sojiro felt tears burn the corners of his eyes again. He swore Akira knew every way to make him feel every emotion possible. 

They broke apart, and Sojiro placed a firm hand on Akiras shoulder with a nod, before exiting the cafe. He waited outside till he saw the downstairs lights turn off, and eventually the upstairs one. 

It was 12:04 now, and Sojiro was practically jelly. He walked in the door, and morgana curled at his feet. He probably spent the night with Futaba tonight.   
"What you get locked out of Futabas room or something little guy?"   
The cat mewed and walked up the stairs with Sojiro in tow. 

He opened the door a bit to see Futaba curled up in bed at a decent time for once. Their little celebration must have pooped her out. He was surprised akira was even able to walk after everything he'd been through over the past days. 

Sojiro peacefully closed her door when Morgana curled up near her face and closed his eyes, retiring to his room for the night. 

He closed his eyes, and came to a solid conclusion. 

Today was a day well spent.


End file.
